Happo-en Garden

Happo-en means "beautiful from every angle." When visiting the Happo-en Garden in Tokyo, you’ll see that the name doesn’t even begin to describe this Japanese garden and teahouse. Take a stroll through tree-lined paths of century old ...

Had a fantastic tour of Tokyo yesterday. The guide was brilliant, Very knowledgeable about Tokyo and Japanese history and had excellent English. Asushie (sorry if spelt wrong) kept us entertained throughout the trip, easy to see why he was previously an actor. Skytree was fantastic even though I don't like heights. Tea ceremony was brilliant and the Japanese garden was out of this would with a riot of autumn colours. lunch was cooked at our table for us and served. Excellent. Temples, Buddist and Shinto very interesting. Highly Recommend the trip

This trip gave us a very good overview of Tokyo. It was a lovely clear day and the view from Tokyo Tower was amazing.The tea ceremony gave us an insight in to the culture of Japan. The gardens in which the tea house is situated is a popular venue for young couples to have wedding photos taken in traditional dress. We saw two such couples and for me it made the visit even more special.

The tour was great, We had one day stopover in Tokyo en route to Europe and I pre-booked the tour. It was a grey day and to be picked up by a bus and toured around Tokyo was hassle free and great. the stop at the Tokyo tower was long enough and despite the murky day the views were worth it. Next stop the gardens, where as it was a public holiday we had the bonus of viewing several wedding parties in the gardens along with the bonsai trees. Some were wearing traditional Japanese clothes, others trad Western bridal gear but all looked stunning. The tea ceremony seemed slightly "contrived", but the Japanese lunch was superb with our meal cooked in front of us. The boat ride was interesting too but the weather was packing in, so the views weren't great. Then we visited the Shrines and a shopping centre, before being given good instructions on how to use the metro back to our hotel. A great way to spend a stopover, see a piece of the city and engage in the culture - highly recommended.

Very well planned out tour once it started. Best to make your own way to the Tokyo bus center and not use the pick up service. Metro/subway in Tokyo is second to none and part of the adventure! Lunch was 1st class. Tea ceremony and walking thru the surrounding gardens gave a very insightful view of Japanese culture. My three kids loved the tour.

This was certainly a great tour and introduction to the city of Tokyo, we had an excellant Guide called Quimone Ninja who was very informative and give us an understanding of what it was like to live in the city. We learned a lot about Japanese culture and its people. We really enjoyed the Tea Cermony abd the beautiful garden. We would certainly recommend it.

I took this tour with my girlfriend, who was visiting from the UK, so that she could see some of Tokyo quickly. It was excellent and did exactly what I wanted it to do. The view of Mount Fuji from the Tokyo Tower was clear and an added bonus.
The Tea Ceremony was simple and serene experience and the gardens were stunning.
Lunch was fantastic and gave us an opportunity to talk to our fellow travellers and once again the gardens were spectacular. The tour guide was excellent. Her English was faultless, her knowledge was deep and her sense of humour just brilliant. I particularly enjoyed her explanation of the Japanese toilet functions!
The day was well organised and went ahead seamlessly. An altogether great tour. I would reccomend this tour to anyone visiting Japan for the first time or any time for that matter.

we feel very lucky to have been able to witness the tea ceremony and walk through the beautiful garden. The lunch yummy and was in an amazing location. sitting on the boat relaxing was a great end to our holiday

We joined this tour on our 3rd and final full day in Tokyo. We thoroughly enjoyed it. We had travelled around Tokyo on our own the previous 2 days, but this tour covered alot of ground, provided some respite from the heat and was thoroughly interesting. Our guide Junko was excellent. Her English is impeccable, and she gave good explanations of where we were going and what we would see. She tought us about the customs and even taught us a few words of Japanese. She did a good job of managing the large group, and keeping us together. She even wrote out some directions for us in Japanese at the end of the tour. The tour was diverse and very interesting. First stop was at the Tokyo Tower. We had a clear day, with good views. The Happo-en garden was beautiful, with a wonderful assortment of bonsai trees. It was interesting to see the rituals of the tea ceremony. A wonderful bonus was seeing 3 bridal parties in the garden that day, some in traditional dress, some in white gowns. Lunch was at a beautiful hotel, with an extensive garden, with more brides! The BBQ was delicious [Oishi]. We walked around the Imperial Palace, and saw what we could of the manucured grounds and buildings from the gate.Through the GInza, and all the fancy shops. Then it was on the river on a short cruise, past some interesting sights, to Asakusa Cannon Temple via the Nakamise shopping street. The shopping street was interesting, lots of small shops and stalls, with samples of snacks and lots of kimonos to try on. The temple and the pagoda are beautiful. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour. It was the perfect of our time in Tokyo. It would have been very difficult, especially in the heat and himidity, to cover as much ground as we did in one day on one's own.

This city tour is a must do!!! When my husband and I arrived in Tokyo it was hard to tell from my guide book, which sites we should see first and how we get around to them. Luckily, I booked this tour before we got there and so our trip was not dependent on me and my ability to glean information from a guide book. This tour hit most of the iconic sites that you would want to see if you only had a day in Tokyo and was at such a nice (quick) pace that my husband never lost interest even though we had been in Japan for 10 days already. First stop, Tokyo Tower, (get your pictures quick because it can be a bit of blitz up to the top and back). Then we were off to a traditional tea ceremony and Japanese garden. The ceremony was beautiful and our guide (Keiko) walked us through all of the steps on our way over to the ceremony so we knew what to do while there. Then off to our ishiyaki lunch (food grilled in front of you on a hot stone) which was super tasty and entertaining. Next, was a walk by the imperial palace (of course you can only see the gate but it's still beautiful) and then our river boat trip. The boat trip is relaxing but don't bother taking pictures of skytree tower in the beginning, the best pictures of the tower are at the end of the trip when you get to Asakusa. The tour end at the temple in Asakusa and it was absolutely stunning!! Huge red gates and lanterns with large golden statues. Really breathe taking (and again, this is after we've seen plenty of temples and shrines). For those of you who like to shop (don't we all?) there is a good sized open-air market at the temple with all the souvenir and food purchases you would need. I would also like to say that our guide, Keiko, was great. Very knowledgeable and interesting! This tour is a must!

Transfers bus from hotel to bus station worked well.The tour itself gave us wonderful overview of Tokyo.The Tea Ceremony in the Garden was unique.All other experiences were very enjoyable and our guide on the day was exceptional and she even assisted us obtaining the correct train tickets train lines back to our various hotels.

A well paced tour with plenty of time given to see the wonders of Tokyo, enjoy a fascinating Tea Ceremony and a very sumptuous lunch with Japanese chefs cooking our meal for us in true Japanese style on our tables.
The gardens in Tea Ceremony area were filled with Bonsai and we were fortunate to witness many trees just about to blossom giving us an insight how beautiful the Cherry Blossoms must be. Recommend this tour.

This tour is highly recommended. If you've been to the Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building and any other significant highrise, then the views are similar. If you want a free view of the city, I'd recommended the Tokyo Government Metropolitan building in Shinjuku since the observatory deck is free and gives you a similar view.

The tea ceremony was a good experience if you want to observe and participate in one of Japan's traditions. You only get a sampling of the tea - which is green and frothy, but as with most Japanese teas, has a bitter after taste. When attending this ceremony, participants are asked to be respectful and abide with the local tradition. The teahouse is also surrounded by a garden, so it's best to go there during Spring or Fall. There is a 300+ and 500+ year old bonsai tree on the premises, so make sure to ask the tour guide if you are interested in seeing them.

The lunch was one of the highlights of the tour - it states a "BBQ" lunch, so don't be deceived if you are used to the concept of an American BBQ. It's actually a hibachi-style lunch, a la Benihana, but not with the volcano or cutting shows. The food is freshly prepared in front of you, so it's definitely worth the experience and was the best lunch out of all 3 tours I took in Japan.

The Sumida River cruise started at the Port of Tokyo to Asakusa, where you will be given about 50 min to an hour to browse around the local shops and bakeries. Most of the vendors do not accept credit cards, so if you want to shop for souvenirs and sweets to take home, make sure you have enough yen on you. Since there is a limited amount of free time in this shopping area, make sure you have a plan of action since the tour bus leaves timely.

Lastly, the tour ends at Tokyo station, and you are responsible for finding your own way back. The guide will help you with directions but you will need to have enough money to return by train/subway. Overall - it was a good tour if you are short on tiime.

The tour gave a great overview of Tokyo, and various aspects of Japanese culture. Great views from tower, enjoyed the gardens, imperial palace, river cruise, tea ceremony and absolutely loved the lunch! Our guide did a wonderful job!

Tour was comprehensive, timely; tour guide was excellent with clear English. Elegant lunch. Nice tea ceremony. Down turn Royal palace garden was closed due to a foreign VIP visitor Good value for money in expensive city like Tokyo